@t55 Thank you, Ton!!
Yes, you're exactly right. after creating WALTR & iBetterCharge.. we wanted to bring a more generic app that everyone can find useful.
Here's the deal, guys...
We decided to mix features from WALTR + YouTube... and we got Softorino YouTube Converter.
The name is ugly. We know. But it's only for SEO purposes.
IMPORTANT:
We totally understand that some may say – this is a gray area. But for those who have poor internet connection or simply for those who live in countries where Youtube Red is not available yet – this is a life savior. That’s why we think it deserves featuring on PH.
..and How are we different from browser add-ons/youtube-dl/websites that do the same?
There are 2 things that make this app really stand out from the overloaded competition..
1. You only have to copy the URL and the converter will do the rest
2. It's the World’s 1st desktop class application to get YouTube videos & music directly into iPhone, iPad.
P.S.
Just like @grayj_ said about youtube-dl, "it's projects like these that are perfect when you're on flaky wifi and don't want to get stuck buffering every three seconds". And that's what we did here. Unlike 1000s of other same utilities, Softorino YouTube Converter has a unique capability – it pushes YT videos, directly to iPhone (without any iOS 3rd party software) – this makes it really stand out.' In short.. this is perfect for downloading videos for plane trips & subway rides! 👍🏻

@joshsoftorino So, "And this time we made the app completely free.". But now, you are forcing an update on this "completely free" app that requires an activation code or it will switch to a 14 day trial period unless I now pay you $19.99 for this completely free app. Which part of "completely free" didn't you understand?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for charging for useful tools, but really, if you have a change of heart, you shouldn't be trying to extort payment out of existing users. Way to lose goodwill.

@frassmith Hi Fraser, first off- you're totally right. We shouldn't extort making existing early adopter users pay. Actually we don't. For the Mac version that we released earlier, we granted a free lifetime license to all of our early adopters via email. The email you've received was a notice of the SYC for Windows official release. If you're are an early adopter- I can assure you that you will receive an email very soon with a free lifetime license.
And just so you know, Fraser- the whole idea of making it paid only came to our minds no more than a month ago. The reason behind it is simple: it's hard to get our app noticed in this overcrowded niche 😟 there are so many sketchy apps that are just crap but since they've been on the market for so long- they are at the top. We were offered to become a paid app and take part in various bundle promotions, which can help us reach a bigger audience.

@joshsoftorino Hi Josh, thanks for the reply. Actually, what got me was that I didn't receive an email. I opened the app and it told me that an update was available. Of course, I tried to install the update and I was then prompted for an activation code when the update tried to install itself. It seems that the update process is a little bit ahead of your communications. :-) BTW: I've already seen you in a bundle, so the policy could be working.

@frassmith Fraser, thanks for understanding. I just checked and the licenses that were generated for you during the Open Beta are actually lifetime licenses and will work if you try to activate it. In any case, could you please let me know the email you've used for your activation key request in the previous versions? (you may send it to me via DM or email me at josh@softorino.com)

WOOT! We’re glad to be here with another product :)
I live in Europe and constantly in a situation where I have data allowance of "only" a number of GBs/mo and I often run out, partially because of YouTube. I’m sure this may sound familiar to many, right? With this app, you can save videos for offline viewing or listening on iPhone, iPad or Mac.
I also find it beautiful when it comes to music.
YouTube has so much content that you can get, which makes Spotify seem too small and now you can listen to this YouTube audio outside the 'youtube app'. As if it's a regular mp3 song on your device.
It's yours. Forever.

What timing - I came here to search for something like this and it was staring me in the face right on the PH front page.
Anyway, This is a stellar app. Beautiful execution @joshsoftorino and amazing UX. Does the job and gets right out the way, like all the best apps do.

@marceglon hah, veeeery perfect timing 😄
I'm glad you were able to find our app. This proves how useful PH can be when you need a quality solution to fit your needs.
And thank you for your awesome feedback. Good UX was our main priority here, considering the fact that there are many tools similar but they all pretty much lack a polished interface and human design. In the next few weeks, we'll be adding many more cool features.

@softorino, thanks for making our lives easier & introducing this FREE app to YouTube fans like me. There's no more limit to how much and where you watch videos, listen to music! Simple and smart. Never stop 🤓

@cademple thanks, Ann ;) There are many more features to come. We plan on adding Wi-fi support for transferring YT videos directly into iOS + many more sources. If you have particular requests on what websites you want us to support, be sure to let me know :)

This kinda proves that streaming isn't the end-all, be-all, doesn't it? That downloading still has a place in music and media, particularly when the wifi is terrible, or certain services aren't available.
While I'm not going to get into the legal, "gray area" question here, I will note that it's bound to prove complicated at scale. Questions of copyright and ownership don't just disappear, so it's something that every music/media company has to acknowledge and deal with at some point.

@adammarx13 definitely makes sense, Adam. Maybe streaming really is taking over but it's not the end-all yet. At least globally it isn't. There is still a big demand for downloading.
And the legal question is very complicated. Upon the development of this app, we did some research and wrote a short article on the copyright issue. It questions... how come YouTube as a broadcasting service tries to stop people from personal viewing the content offline.
If you want, you can find out more about our opinion on the "legality of this" – here:
http://softorino.com/youtube-con...

@joshsoftorino@adammarx13 I appreciate your response, and certainly agree with you along the lines of the "streaming question." Streaming is a great way to access music, but it being touted as the "future of music" is simultaneously misleading and narrow-minded in my opinion, particularly as so much of music isn't supposed to be that ephemeral, but rather more permanent (as downloading is).
Regarding the legal question, I can see your argument about the "gray area," but I'm not sure I agree with your takeaway from a business standpoint. As I've seen @rrhoover and @bentossell focus on before, media apps and services which operate in legal gray areas (or even illegally in the broader question) can have a very hard time scaling. We saw it with services like Aurous, which become big targets for structures like the RIAA.
I did read your post. I can see your point of view, but unfortunately don't think it would stand up legally. A lot of the points made therein were very astute, but I think there could be trouble if an RIAA attorney were to push you on the copyright issue. The reality is that Google has the right to secure whatever deals it decides with companies like the RIAA and MPAA, regardless of offline access. How something "should be" set up and how it is actually set up are 2 completely different realities, and must be treated as such. In order to be able to scale, you need to play the game according to the rules of the present, even if those rules change for your benefit in the future. Otherwise, you could open yourself up to legal issues now, as opposed to thinking about how you would be able to avoid them later.

@adammarx13 Adam, you had me worried this whole time I was reading your comment :D
I see your point with the example of Aurous. But it was a done all using the web.. and it was kinda of like Popcorn Time. These projects were shut down because they were very provocative and potentially could disrupt the movie/music industry. And sure, I'd like to hear what @rrhoover and @bentossell have to add on this subject.
Let me clear the air regarding Softorino YouTube Converter (and of course, try to pitch it a bit):
Unlike the big names that are listed above, we on the other hand created a problem-solver. And there are already many (1000s) similar solutions that are in form of a website/plug-in/software. We simply made it unique (implemented the transfer to iOS technology, that we created for our app WALTR) and we made it beautiful with a human-design (unlike the rest of the apps).
If the RIAA or Google comes for us, it may only be because of the app's name. For the technology itself, it's actually the user who is "not playing by the rules". But there are hundreds of millions of users that are downloading videos from YouTube. And without any bad intentions. So the big guys, will have to sue 300+ millions of people :)
They won't do this. If they really want to get everyone to pay for streaming, they will have to figure out how to close these holes.
Anyways, just wish us luck, man. This app is solely for good reasons. It enhances youtube viewing pleasure. Even with this app, I still continue watching a ton of videos online. It's only when I need something on-the-go, to watch or listen without internet.